DrinksThree Tips to Brewing Great Tasting Tea
Tired of brewing tea that tastes horrible and bitter? There"s nothing worse than going through the effort of brewing a whole pot of tea and having it turn out un-drinkable. Here"s some simple tips and steps to follow to ensure that every cup of tea you brew tastes great.
Your regular tap water could be fouling the taste of your tea. Tap water contains lots of chemicals and minerals that can make your tea bitter and change the taste. You should always try to use filtered water when brewing tea. This doesn"t mean that you need to use expensive glacier filtered water! A simple water filter such as a Brita can do the trick.
Always use cold water when filling your tea kettle. Warm water is no good. You also definitely don"t want to re-boil any day old water that is sitting in your tea kettle. You want to fill your kettle with cold, fresh water. This alone can go a long way in brewing a great tasting pot of tea.
The temperature of the water you pour over your tea is also important. Boiling water poured immediately from the kettle is too hot and will burn the tea leaves. This is the biggest reason why tea tastes bitter. Here"s two simple ways to solve this problem. The first way is to let the boiled water sit a couple of minutes before pouring. The second way is to shut off your kettle just before the water reaches boiling. Either of these methods will do the trick and will prevent the tea leaves from being burned, resulting in a poor tasting cup.
The length of time that you let the tea steep is also very important in brewing a great tasting cup. If you steep your tea for too long it will end up tasting bitter. 2-3 minutes is usually a good baseline to follow. Some teas taste better with a longer steeping time such as rooibos. It can be a good idea to test out different steeping times and note the results. Everyone has different preferences. Experimenting is the best way to come up with a tea brewing formula that tastes great to you.
Follow these three simple tips and you"ll notice the difference in the quality of tea you brew.